RIPTA was created by the state in 1964 to take over the bus routes of the United Transit Company, the descendant of the former Rhode Island Company streetcar system. The agency inherited a system of Providence-based local routes with rapidly falling ridership; over the next half-century RIPTA expanded service to cover more of the state. However, many of the local routes suffered from slow speeds and routes that followed former streetcar services rather than newer development. In 2013, RIPTA released plans for major service changes, including the removal of some bus stops and a focusing of resources on higher-demand routes, designed to modernize their system under a constant budget. The report proposed rapid bus service on a combination of the 11 and 99 routes, as well as a long-planned extension of other services to
South Attleboro station. Transit signal priority construction began in February 2013 and was largely complete by the end of the year, with minor adjustments lasting until April 2014. Passenger amenities including shelters were installed in May and June 2014. Service on the 11 and 99 continued normally during construction. R-Line service began on June 21, 2014, along with implementation of much of the 2013 plan. A new route,
98 Pawtucket Ave, began operations the same day to maintain service on Pawtucket Avenue southwest of downtown Pawtucket, which the 99 had traveled on but the R-Line does not. The
98 was later merged with the
71 Broad Street route to form the
71 Broad Street / Pawtucket Avenue route.
Future expansion RIPTA plans to convert other high-ridership local routes into rapid bus routes; the
20,
27, and
56 routes will be given priority for conversion. ==References==